Extrusion

a technology of nutritional composition and expansion, applied in the field of expansion, can solve the problems of limited adaptation of hardware configuration and machinery used in conventional processes, and achieve the effects of convenient retrofitting into existing processing plants, high flexibility, and efficient operation

Pending Publication Date: 2021-08-19
NV NUTRICIA
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]A further advantage of the process according to the invention is that it provides little disruption of existing manufacturing processes for infant formula products wherein extrusion is not used, such that it is readily retrofitted into existing processing plants. Limited adaptation is required in terms of hardware configuration and machinery used in conventional processes that include a spray-drying step. Also, the process according to the invention is highly versatile when it comes to starting materials, and operates efficiently when the conventional starting materials for infant formula product manufacture are used. Furthermore, the process according to the invention is very well capable of taking (natural) variations in the composition of starting materials into account, since prior to the homogenisation step as used, the levels of the relevant ingredients can be monitored and adjusted as desired. Furthermore, capex costs expressed as the capital expenditure per kilogram product manufactured by the method according to the invention is very favourable.
[0007]The process of the present invention reduces the heat-load exerted on the protein component to a minimum by keeping temperatures desirably low at all stages. As such, the obtained infant formula product mimics the golden standard set by human milk to a better extent than infant formula products that are subjected to higher temperatures during processing, especially to higher extrusion temperatures.
[0008]A further advantage of the process according to the invention is that both heat-treated and non-heat treated proteins can be used as starter material as they can enter the process at different phases. Yet, proteins enter the process by contacting them with a liquid stream such that they form an integral part of the end product by forming a protective layer that surrounds the lipid component and / or by forming part of lipid-containing particles instead of being present in the infant formula product as separate particles. This is of particular relevance in preventing oxidisation of lipids via reduced exposure to air.
[0009]Also, the present process allows highly concentrated ingredients to be used in a wet mix process thereby minimizing use of water yet preventing fouling of equipment to occur.
[0010]Thus, the present invention provides a flexible, balanced yet efficient infant formula extrusion-based manufacturing process capable of using readily available ingredients, wherein a heat treatment step is performed on as much of the required proteins but with exclusion of as much of the required lipids and carbohydrates as possible, yet providing room for adding ingredients during the extrusion step if needed. Such flexibility is a benefit in view of different recipes an infant manufacturing plant is supposed to produce to tailor the demanding market and supply the full gamma of products sold using a processing line that is as straight forward and basic as possible.
[0011]The infant formulae products obtained by the process according to the invention show desirable reconstitution (dissolution) behaviour without undesirable lumping or sticking. The process of the invention provides a nutritional composition that is easily dispersible upon mixing with a liquid, typically water, to give a homogeneous liquid mixture of protein, fat and carbohydrate without visible separation of an aqueous and a non-aqueous phase.

Problems solved by technology

Limited adaptation is required in terms of hardware configuration and machinery used in conventional processes that include a spray-drying step.

Method used

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  • Extrusion

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0116]A process flow was generated for production of an infant formula intended for infants with an age of between 0 and 6 months. In a first step, demineralized whey (Demin Whey, flowrate 3166 kg / h), liquid whey protein concentrate 80 (WPC80, flowrate 430 kg / h), water (flowrate 677.2 kg / h) and the required amounts of micronutrients (i.e. vitamins and minerals) were compounded into an aqueous liquid with a total solids content (% TS) of 25 at a temperature of 35° C., and processed at a flowrate of 4419 kg / h.

[0117]The aqueous liquid was subsequently heat treated at 121.0° C. with a residence time of 2.89 seconds to achieve an F0 of 2.4. After cooling, the heated solution is subsequently fed into an evaporator for concentration purposes during which water was removed at a flowrate of 1943.5 kg / h. After evaporation, the aqueous solution has a % TS of 44.6 and is conveyed with a flowrate of 2475.5 at a temperature of 60° C. to the oil injector. Oils necessary to produce the infant formu...

example 2

[0119]A process flow was generated for production of an infant formula intended for infants with an age of between 6 and 12 months. In a first step, liquid whey protein concentrate 35 (WPC35, flowrate 1019.4 kg / h), water flowrate 3140.7 kg / h) and the required amounts of micronutrients (i.e.

[0120]vitamins and minerals) were compounded into an aqueous liquid with a total solids content (% TS) of 25 at a temperature of 35° C., and processed at a flowrate of 4236.5 kg / h. Protein content of the aqueous liquid was 8.44 wt %.

[0121]The aqueous liquid was subsequently heat treated at 121.0° C. with a residence time of 2.89 seconds to achieve an F0 of 2.4. After cooling, the heated solution is subsequently fed into an evaporator for concentration purposes. After evaporation, during which water was removed with a flowrate of 1703.1 kg / h, the aqueous solution has a % TS of 41.8 and is conveyed with a flowrate of 2533.4 at a temperature of 60° C. to the oil injector. Oils necessary to produce th...

example 3

[0123]Data mentioned in example 1 and 2 were generated using the gPROMS gFormulatedProducts 1.2.2 simulation model from Process Systems Enterprise (PSE). Mass balance models used were steady state, meaning no accumulation in time is applied. Models were applied on a macro level without applying any discretization method.

[0124]For evaporation / concentration the mass balance of equation (1) was applied.

0=φmin−φmout−φmexap  (1)

It states that the amount of evaporated water or water otherwise removed

(k⁢gs)

from a stream, plus the outlet from a stream should be equal to an inlet stream. From this perspective the outlet total solids

(k⁢gk⁢g)

were calculated via equation (2):

xs⁢olidso⁢u⁢t=xsolidsi⁢n⁢φmi⁢nφmout(2)

This was applied under the assumption that extracted water, extracted via evaporation or any other technology, is pure water.

[0125]The same approach was used for mixing of different streams either within compounding (i.e. preparation of an aqueous mixture prior to heat treatment step a)...

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Abstract

The present invention concerns a process for manufacturing an infant formula product comprising: (a) subjecting an aqueous mixture having a protein component and a carbohydrate component to a heat treatment step; (b) mixing the aqueous mixture with a lipid component; (c) subjecting the aqueous mixture comprising the lipid component, the carbohydrate component and the heat-treated protein component to a homogenization and emulsification step to obtain a homogenized oil-in-water emulsion having a total solids content in the range of 45-73 wt %; (d) conveying the homogenized emulsion into an extruder, independently adding digestible carbohydrates and optionally dietary fibres to the extruder and extruding the contents of the extruder to obtain an extruded material; (e) preparing an infant formula product from the extruded material. The invention further concerns Infant formula product obtainable by the process according to the invention and to a modular system suitable for performing the process according to the invention.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing nutritional composition, in particular infant formula products thereof, by extrusion, to the nutritional compositions obtained thereby and to a modular system suitable for performing the process according to the invention.BACKGROUND ART[0002]Powdered nutritional compositions containing a protein component, a fat component and a carbohydrate component are well known. They are intended to be reconstituted prior to consumption with a liquid, typically. Powdered nutritional compositions include infant formulae, growing-up milks and compositions used in clinical nutrition, for example for enteral feeding. Conventionally, such products are manufactured by mixing all the ingredients with water, subjecting the liquid mixture to a thermal treatment to reduce bacterial loads, homogenising the mixture and then subjecting it to spray-drying.[0003]Extrusion methods are highly efficient methods that significa...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A23P30/20A23L33/125A23L33/19A23L33/115A23L33/00A23L33/21A23L3/16
CPCA23P30/20A23L33/125A23L33/19A23V2002/00A23L33/40A23L33/21A23L3/16A23L33/115
Inventor ÜSTÜNEL, MEMET ALIMOONEN, RAOUL CHARLES JOHAN
Owner NV NUTRICIA
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